Cutest Little Ball Guard.

Obama, Our Ball Guard.

Ball is Life.New Friends at the International Youth Fellowship Camp.

A few weeks ago we had focus groups with some of the kids and then with coaches and parents the following day. It was great to sit in and listen to some of the feedback from others on how we can make Shooting Touch bigger and better.

Then I was supposed to play for Ubumwe on Sunday; however I didnt have my clearance letter from USA Basketball; therefore I cannot play until I get that completed. Hopefully that will be soon because it is driving me crazy not being able to play.

So instead of going to Kigali for the Ubumwe game, I went to Rukara to help support the Shooting Touch kids in their games, and to officiate the games. Both boys and girls lost; but, the girls only lost by 1 point. But considering that these secondary, some primary girls, played against a university team, and they all played their hearts out, I am extremely proud of the effort put forth by all of the players! Great job!

I visited Sacca girls orphanage this week. I played a few games with the them, and taught them some new basketball skills while there. We played one game, it was a passing tag game, that the girls were having so much fun with that they were all screaming and smiling and laughing so hard that I couldnt help but laugh myself the entire time! It was awesome! I think I had just as much fun as they did. 😊

This past Monday and Tuesday The Youth Fellowship had a healing camp at the Kayonza Youth Center. It was great we learned some new languages, Sawadee (That’s Hello in Thai), did some trivia, and did some mental healing and learned about the Heart. I thought it was really a really great experience and even got the contact information for the people at IYF to possible be involved in any other events they do in Rwanda.

There is a very young boy in Kayonza, his name is Obama, that has been hanging around the courts lately watching the actions until he found himself a job. He decided on his own, after watching me and Christian trying to stop some kids from trying to take the balls while we were running practice, that it would be his job to guards the basketballs for us. He did such a great job, and our practice went so much smoother. We told him he could play with one if he wanted to, and he was so happy! It was so cute to see the joy on his face. He continued to come the to courts and guard the basketballs for us so I decided to reward him for his hard work and dedication. I gave Obama a pair of sneakers that were donated to the youth. This little guy was so ecstatically happy that after receiving the shoes he gave me a huge hug and immediately ran home to show his mom his new sneakers. It was the cutest thing.

And that my friends is exactly the reason I wanted to be part of this program. Those are the moments that make a difference not only in that little guy’s life but will leave a lasting impression in mine as well.

This journey continues to be a great one. I hope everyone has a great holiday and has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.! 🙂